Railway-track skate



3 Sheets--Sheet 1- July 28, l 5.

R. E. MCGAHEY RAILWAY TRACK SKATE Filed Feb. '27,

July 2s, 1925. 1,547,936

- R. E. MGGAHEY RAILWAY Tlwm-v SKATE Filed Feb. 2v, 1925 s sheets-sheep 5 v Patented July 28, 1925'.

ROBERT E'. McGill-any, on ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA.

-RAinWA'Y-TRAGK simian;v

- Appuatio ered February"27, 1925,Y seriaizNo. 12,104.

To allgwt'om'z't may 'concer/t: 5 i Y Beit knownthat 1I, ROBERT E. MGGAHEY, a citizen,Y of the,y United States,- residing at Alexandria, in the State of Virginia, have invented eertainnew and useful Improve!` ments in Railway-'I`raok` Skates, of which the fllovving' is a specification.

This" inventin' relates to railway track skates and has for-"an object te provide a devicev of the generalelass'k adapted to be placed upon "a railway rail upon and against which the Wheel of a' cariinpingesin motion and which is adapted to vslide 'along on the rail underV suchwheel for' the" purpose of"r vstopping theear by theifrictional engagement of the skate with the-rail. 1

A further object-of the'- invention is to providev such a track'skate which, When ink operative pos'ition`,'is free to slide along: the rail to an kunlimited distance' and, when innormal loeation, maybe raisedupon and re!"I movedfrom operating positionl on thet rail,

and to operate either vmanually Vat f' the' location of the'skate or frein a 'distancebylpower transmission. Y

A furtherobject' of the,` 'inventio'n"l is' to Y provide an organizationy attachedA toafrail embodyingv somepower'? means as o'rf'inl' stance" a pneumatic cylinder byw'liich ypeWe'r may, when desiredbe applied to operate theskate With a skate associated'ivith the inst'allatioi'r in position, when removed from the rail, to be'llocked 'a'gainstdisplacement and, when placed' 'upon the rail,' reeto' 'leave' the organizationand slide an unlimited 'dise4 tance alongand uponfthe rail',

A, further object' of' the'in'vention l' is to previde' a" traek skate of y the type mentioned withl vimproved rmeans 'associated Witlrit's lo'- cation" at th'erail enabling a distant voperator te throw the vskate upon or off thev rail While permitting theactuation of the" skatey in either'direction manually atthe location.

lVith' these and other objects in view, the inventioncomprises'certainl novel parts, elements, units, combi'n'at-iens, iiiteract'ions,me-v

chanieal movements and functions 'as dis-` closed in`-v the drawings, 'together'withinethesand pocket.

' other'bearing for the skate.

ating means .iii side elevation and the rail in transverse section.

to which the structureis'applie'd With the skatereinoved.

Figure?) is'a'view of' the skate'in end elevation.

Figure 4C is a View of the skate in side ele' vatio-n, a' part being broken away tov show Figure l'is a top plan view of the'skate. igure" 6 Visa-plan view' of the skate operating link.-

.Figure 7 is a view of Vtheskate operating link inv side elevation.

igure, 8 is a plan vievsT of the skate'in positionV upon a rail and with itsl` associated parte. f

F igurelQ 'is' a vieW inside elevationl of 'one of the bearings'forsupporting the skate.

Figure l() isa top'plan View vof the bearing which is sh'oWn in side elevation at Figure 9. l

Figure 1l 2is larvview in side elevation of an- Figure l2 isfa'view in top l p'lantot the" bearingshown in ele'v'altionY at yFigure 1l.

VIt is'Well known that appliances are already in usekn'own a'sftrack V'skatesvor track" skids' and by4 'varieus other names"WhichL 'are seated lmanually upon'a rail in position vso that the front `Wheel'of atcar inovingtoward the positioned skate willl ride" upon theskate and-'coming infcontactlwith an abutment the continued moment-um ofthe carvvill cause the' skate to 4slide along" the vrail supporting the-Wheel van"dWill stop the carA bythe frictioilial-r engagement of the skate upen the' rai The/present invention comprises a skate having an elongated body '20u/ith flanges 21-'and 22 positioned to'y sit "uponthe head 23 ofthe rail 'with the flanges uponthe oppo-l site side.-` The body 2O pro-vides an abutment f 24 against vwhich the Wheel of i'the' car in motionengag'es, a. hump '25l also beingA preferab-ly'provided to prevent rebound. A shoulder'Q in thepresentinventionis provided' in such positionV that the car While' restin'gfupon the b'ody QOYWill engage against this shoulder and tend to tilt the skate so that the nose or 'p`oint27 Will dig into the rail or atleast Will increase the frictional engagement between the. skate and the rail. For the purpose also ofinc'reasing such lll) frictional engagement, an opening 28,`called a sand pocket, is formed in the skate having a perforated bottom 29 which may and preferably will be a block of wood with holes therein and closed by a plug which likewise may and preferably will be a block of wood.. When the skate is in upright position as shown at Figures 3 and 4, and is moved forcibly and slidably along the rail, the sand from the pocket 28 will siftthrough the perforations of the plug 29 and prevent undue slippage of the skate upon the rail which precaution is especially desirable for wet weather use.

To handle the skate under manual conditions, a handle 3l is provided by which the skate as an entirety may be moved or raised.

The present invention embodies means for locating this skate at a definite positionv relative to the rail and to provide means Whereby the skate may be placed upon or removed from the rail by an operator at a distant point, as for instance in a switch tower.

This construction comprises a basev which is preferably bolted to the flange 33 of the rail as indicated at 34, it being understood, of course, that the manner of bolting may be varied as' found desirable.

To the base 32 a bearing 35 is preferably secured permanently as: by welding the part 36 and said bearing is also preferably bolted to the web of the rail as at 37. rfhis adds additional engagement between the base 32 and the rail.V rlhis bearing is preferably adjacent one side of the base 32 and a second bearing 38 is secured in a position adjacent the opposite side of the base. It is not the intent that said bearing 88 shall be permanently secured to the base but is bolted at 39 to the rail. The bearings 35 and 38 are properly spaced apart, the former to engage the section 89 and the latter the section 40 of a trunnion formed upon the side of the skate, preferably integral therewith and joined by means of a web 4l. This ,trunni'on embodying the sections 39 and 40 is properly proportioned to be engaged by the bearings 35 and 38, the end 40 being inserted slidably into the opening 42 by sliding first through the key hole slot 43 in the bearing 35. l/Vhen the skate has been slidably moved along the rail so that the two sections 39 and 40 are properly seated in the bearings 35 and 3S, the skate as an entirety may be tilted over off from the rail support by the bearings '35 and 88. Such tilting may be accomplished manually by engaging the handle 31 but means is provided for operating the skate by power, preferably from a distant point, such power means being shown conventionally by the cylinder' 44. rihis cylinder 44 has .a piston rod 45 extending outwardly therefrom, pivotally connected with a link 46. rlhe link 46 has a right angled bend or finger 47 which engages in the opening 48 of the arm 49 which is rigidly connected and preferably integral with the trunnion and other parts 'of the skate structure. Thefinger 47 is merely inserted in the opening 48 and is not in any wayrsecured or fastened therein, so that, when the skate is raised to the position shownin full lines at- Figure l, it is free to slide by sliding the trunnion out of the opening 42 of the bearing 38 and through the opening 43 of the bearing 35, similarly out of engagement with the linger 47, so that the skate as an entirety is free to leave its association with the operating means and slide along under the impact of the car engaged thereon. Merely for the purpose of preventing side stress or strainV upon the link 46, abutments or lugs 49 and 50 are rigidly secured to the base 32 so that the link operates between these lugs and is not subjected to side strain or breaking stress in case of any binding between the finger 47 and arm 49 as the skate leaves its position relative to the base 32.

Assuming that the power means 44 is a pneumatic cylinder, it .is obvious that its actuation may be controlled from a distant point as for instance a switch tower, the same being true, of course, if the part 44 represents or is embodied in any other type of power means as for instance electric means, it being understood that the part 44 is merely a conventional showing yof any desired power means.

In operation, the skate will normally lie alongside the rail in the position shown in dotted lines at Figure l. It is intended that this skate shall be used at such locations as make it necessary or desirable at times to stop cars moving under their own momentum, either in switching or for other purposes. It will find its greatest utility in switching cars on a gravity track but is in no way limited thereto. Assuming, however, its use on such gravity track, it will, as noted, lie alongside the rail until a car starts down the incline and it is desired to stop the car in its progress. The switchman in the tower, noting the position of the car, willoperate the proper mechanical devices for energizing the power means, as for instance admitting air to the pneumatic cylinder, which will cause the piston through the medium of the link to lift the skate from the inclined or `inoperative position and place it upon the top of the rail. If the car proceeds to this point and engages upon the skate, the skate will disengage itself wholly and entirely from all association with the operating means and will slide along the rail so far and for such length of time as the momentum of the car impels.

After the car has been removed from the skate, the skate is manually carried back to position and being set down upon the top of the rail is slidablyj inserted first through the bearing and then the end of the trunnion into the bearing 38 with, of course, the

- linger 48 located in the opening 38 lof' the arm 49. rIhe dropping down of the skate to normal or inoperative position locks it thoroughly against sliding movement as the web 41 engages against the bearings 35 and 38 in both directions and by reason of the key hole shape of the opening 43 in the bearing 35 the skate bodily can not be lifted out of such position. lt is released by and only by a sliding movement when and only when the skate is in verect position upon the top of the rail. At all other times, it islocked against movement in all directions.

lhat l claim to be new is;

l. A track skate embodying a base rigidly connected with a rail, a skate member hinged to the base .and adapted to assume erect positionsupon the rail and inoperative positions at the side of the rail, means locking the skate against displacement when in inclined position, said means permitting the skate to slidably move out of association with the base when in erect position.

2. A'track skate embodying a base rigidly connected with the rail, a skate member pivoted to the base, and power means adapted to raise the skate into operative position upon the 'rail and remove Vit to inoperative position at the side of the rail.

3. A track skate organization comprising a base rigidly connected with a rail, a skate member pivoted to the rail and adapted to occupy an erect position upon the top of the a base rigidly secured to a rail, a skate body and means hinging the skate body to the base, providing for movement of the skate body from erect position upon the top of the rail to inclined position at the side of the rail, said means locking the body against displacement when invinclined position, and allowing for the longitudinal sliding disengagement of the body from the base when in erect position.

5. A trackskate organization comprising a'body having an elongatedy part propor- -tioned for supporting a car wheel and an abutment against whichthe wheel isv located, a shoulder outstanding from the abut,` ment against which the wheel impinges,`and a sharpened nose at the forward end of the body positioned to additionally fricti'onally engage the rail from the augmented pressure of the car wheel against the shoulder.

InV testimony whereof I afrix my signature.

' ROBERT E. Moofarmv. 

